


just breathe

by twistedsky



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-21
Updated: 2014-11-21
Packaged: 2018-02-25 04:45:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2608961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twistedsky/pseuds/twistedsky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>College roommates AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	just breathe

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings for drug use. 
> 
> For Jenna.
> 
> I haven't watched this show in forever, so characterization is kind of iffy.

“Everything has to be perfect _,”_ Spencer says as she heads to her very first dorm room. “And now it might not be, because we were supposed to be here _two hours_ ago.”

She doesn't mean to place blame, but well. Yes, she means to place blame, because it's Hanna's fault.

“It’ll be fine,” Hanna tells her. “And I’ve already told you how sorry I am about making us late. I didn’t know that you were actually serious when you sent that itinerary over.”

“I never joke about itineraries,” Spencer says as they finally find her room. Hanna had offered to help her move in because her parents and sister were busy, but now Spencer is regretting taking her up on the offer.

“Well,” Hanna says, “Now I _know_ that.”

“That’s what you say every time,” Spencer points out, and she’s right. She slips her card into the card reader and lets out a sigh of relief when the lights flash green and she can open the door.

She’s heard horror stories about non-working ID cards, and now is really not the time for that.

She opens the door, and her roommate—Aria something or other, who apparently has pink stripes in her hair and faintly smells of illegal drugs—looks up from her book to greet her with a smile.

“Am I in the right place?” Spencer asks, because she really hopes not.

“Spencer Hastings?” Spencer nods. “You’re in the right place. I chose this side of the room, because I like to be near the window." Fuck, Spencer thinks, but this situation can hopefully still be salvaged, right?

She takes another look at Aria, and thinks not.

Spencer knows she can be a little judgmental, and she doesn’t always like that about herself, but the girl is sitting and reading instead of picking up the mess she’s already taken up _more_ than half the room with.

“Aren’t you going to unpack?” Spencer asks, hoping she’ll take a hint.

“Already did,” Aria says, and Spencer can already tell it’s going to be a long year.

~~

Spencer spends every waking minute either studying or trying to establish herself in campus activities. She’s a business major, and she needs to make connections, which is what college is all about.

Aria doesn’t seem to think so, but she’s an _English major_ , which is just another way to say that she’ll be unemployed after college until she either decides to work in a coffee shop, writes the great American novel that isn’t actually that great and will never get published, or becomes a teacher.

Now, Spencer has nothing against teachers. A good teacher is worth fifty bad ones. She’s not a big fan of people _defaulting_ on becoming a teacher, which Aria somehow seems likely to do.

She doesn’t know Aria all that well, but from the little she sees of her, she knows enough to say she doesn’t actually care for her.

Again, she can be a little judgmental. 

Aria listens to her music too loud when Spencer is trying to study(and Spencer can even hear it after she asks Aria to put her earphones on, because it’s just that _loud_ ).

Aria reads a lot, but Spencer has never seen her actually pick up a school book, which she bites out grumpily when she’s studying for her business classes, because that’s a _practical_ major, you see, the kind that people who actually want to accomplish something major in.

Or, at least, that’s what her parents always seem to say. It’s that, or she’s going to law school or med school, and according to her dad, law school is definitely still a possibility, which is why she’s supposed to join the debate team and try out for mock trial when the time comes.

When Spencer snarkily comments on Aria’s lack of studying, the girl shrugs and then laughs. “These are my school books, Spence.”

“Don’t call me Spence.” Hanna calls her Spence. Other people call her Spence, but for some reason hearing Aria doing it annoys her a little _too_ much.

“Okay, sweetpea,” Aria says, and she puts on her earphones and goes back to reading her book.

Spencer sends her a withering glance and then sighs, looking back down at her laptop, and the mounds and mounds of reading she has to complete.

~~

There are midterms going on, and Spencer comes home to see Aria smoking at the window, and not just the kind of smoking that’s against the rules, the kind that’s against the _law._

Of course she would, Spencer thinks. Of course she would.

“Do I  need to tell our RA?”

“Of course not,” Aria says with a smile. “Are you interested?”

“No,” Spencer says sternly, hoping Aria will take the hint, but Aria just shrugs. “You need to—stop.”

Aria sighs, but acquiesces. “I’ll see you later, sweetcheeks,” and she ducks out of their door, leaving it _open_ like the awful roommate that she is. Aria has decided to try every variation of a cute nickname—from the obvious sweetpea and sweetcheeks to the sugarpops and the applecrisps, which really now, are just weird.

“It’s Spencer,” she calls after her, but it’s irrelevant, because Aria's already gone. Spencer slams the door and sprays her air freshener viciously. She wishes Aria would stay gone.

Her roommate is the worst.

~~

By the end of the first semester, Spencer’s not sure how she’s still alive. She may have made a slight miscalculation in terms of how much she could handle, but that can be adjusted for next semester.

Her roommate does not make things easier with her loud music and her easy major, and her pink hair. It infuriates Spencer, though she doesn't look too deeply at the reasons why. It's simple.

But the end of the semester comes, and she’s halfway to never seeing Aria again, and it’s winter break, and everything is going to be so much better now.

She’s so stressed out that she can barely get herself to eat, and exercising isn’t even helping, even though apparently she’s got a mean face and a vicious attitude, her teammates say.

That’s the last thing she needs, so she stalks home and slams open the door after swiping her card _four times_ trying to get it open.

“Someone’s in a bad mood,” Aria says. “Want to join my good one, pumpkin streusel?” All that does is make Spencer angrier, and maybe a little hungry too.

“No,” Spencer says, “I don’t,” and she yanks off her shoes and socks and looks up to see Aria trying to hand her a chocolate bar. “Oh.”

“Take it,” Aria offers. “It seems like you’re having a bad day, which is funny since classes are over, and I’m assuming you’re done with finals.”

Spencer frowns, and Aria takes her hand and presses the chocolate into her hand. “Relax,” Aria says. “Take a second to breathe.”

Spencer takes the chocolate and opens it, breaking off a piece to eat.

Aria smiles, and Spencer is sure she’s going to mock her for not just biting into it, but she doesn’t.

“You’re very intense,” Aria comments, and that’s probably an understatement, admittedly, Spencer thinks.

“Sometimes.”

“All the time,” Aria corrects. “You never slow down.”

“Slowing down might as well mean dying,” Spencer says, and Aria sits down next to her on the bed and pats her arm awkwardly, like she’s trying to be comforting.

It might be working, Spencer thinks. But maybe not.

“Take a second to breathe,” Aria suggests. “You don’t have to dabble in drinking as a professional sport, or get high with me, but you can just _breathe._ ”

“I guess,” Spencer says.

“Wanna make out?” Aria asks.

Spencer laughs, and then looks at Aria, who is smiling, but not laughing. “Are you serious?” Spencer stops laughing. “Really?”

“Sure,” Aria says.

They stare at each other awkwardly. “I think the moment’s passed,” Spencer says softly, and Aria nods.

“I’ve taken the spontaneity out of things, it’s no longer fun.” Aria shrugs. "Next time, maybe."

Spencer moves forward and places her hand on Aria’s cheek, kissing her softly.

She pulls back immediately.

“Okay,” Aria says. “It was still fun." 

Spencer smiles back. “Thanks.” She picks her chocolate back off her lap and holds it toward Aria. "Chocolate?"

Aria shakes her head. "I've got my own." She stands up and walks over to her bed, flopping down. "You okay?"

Spencer smiles. "Yeah. I'm okay."

Aria's still annoying, Spencer thinks, but maybe she's not all bad.


End file.
